Introduction Flashcards
According to the Sexual Offences Act 2003, what is consent?
A person consents if he agrees by choice, and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice.
Under what age can there be no consent?
Under 16
How do police tend to define policy?
‘Serious’ and ‘other’ sexual offences
In broad terms, what sexual offences are normally considered as serious when committed against adults (including attempts):
- Rape (vaginal, anal and oral).
- Sexual assault by penetration.
- Sexual assault where the assault is particularly serious (or is aggravated, e.g with the involvement of someone with a mental disorder).
- Causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.
- Anything to do with children.
Do laws to do with rape from many years ago apply now?
No - rape law proper to the 1990s would only cover vaginal penetration, and not anal or oral.
The latter form of penetration was added to the definition of rape in the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Section 78 of the SOA 2003 states that penetration, touching or any other activity is sexual if a reasonable person would consider that:
1) the general nature of the act is sexual regardless of the circumstances or someone’s purpose in relation to the act (e.g. touching of vagina/penis, or masturbation is likely to be considered a sexual act by a reasonable person)
or
2) the act could be sexual because of its nature AND because of the circumstances or purpose of the person committing the act, it is sexual.
Section 78 of the SOA 2003
If a person has a hidden sexual motive to performing an innocent activity would that be considered sexual under the terms of this Act?
No, because it would fail in the definition of ‘sexual’ part 1 above.
This means that obscure fetishes that are not generally considered sexual would normally be excluded by this Act.
Someone cannot have the capacity to consent if…
they are asleep, unconscious, have a physical disability that prevents them from communicating that they do not consent, or do not have the mental capacity to consent (e.g. through learning difficulty/mental health issues). T
They also cannot consent if they are stupefied/intoxicated through a substance they have taken either knowingly, accidentally or administered by a perpetrator (e.g. drug facilitated rape).
